In 1837, while charting the Amazonian country of Guiana for Great Britain, German naturalist Robert Schomburgk discovered an astounding vegetable wonder--a huge water lily whose leaves were five or six feet across and whose flowers were dazzlingly white. In England, a horticultural nation with a mania for gardens and flowers, news of the discovery sparked a race to bring a live specimen back, and to bring it to bloom. In this extraordinary plant, named Victoria regia for the newly crowned queen, the flower-obsessed British had found their beau ideal. In The Flower of Empire, Tatiana Holway tells the story of this magnificent lily, revealing how it touched nearly every aspect of Victorian life, art, and culture. Holways colorful narrative captures the sensation stirred by Victoria regia in England, particularly the intense race among prominent Britons to be the first to coax the flower to bloom. We meet the great botanists of the age, from the legendary Sir Joseph Banks, to Sir William JacksonA Look Inside The Flower of Empire: An Amazonian Water Lily, The Quest to Make it Bloom, and the World it Created [Click Images to Enlarge] The British Empire, later 19th century Queen Victoria, the “Rosebud of England” (The Victoria and Albert Museum, London) The Victoria water lily in cultivation today (Kit Knotts & Victoria-Adventure) The Crystal Palace, erected for the Great Exhibition of 1851 (The Victoria and Albert Museum, London) Victoria Regia, the “Queen of Aquatics” (Courtesy of the Trustees of the National Library of Scotland). Inside the 1851 hothouse of industry (The Victoria and Albert Museum, London) ...

Excerpt from Special Price List: Lilium Harrisii, or True Bermuda Easter Lily, Hyacinths, Narcissus, Tulips, Etc. For Summer and Fall Delivery; Season 1894 WE guarantee TO deliver good, sound bulbs OF first quality OR N 0 sale, and if not such they can be returned at once at our expense, if within five days after receipt by you, but we assume no responsibility for the results m forcing or ﬂowering of Bulbs. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally ...

The perfect Lenten book for those who like to see God in nature and who understand that the Church s year is based on nature s cycle.Thorn, Fire and Lily covers the period from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday and gives practical proof of the close link between prayer and gardening. Jane Mossendew s introduction explains how the book s featured plants— one for each day—illustrates Lenten themes like prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Plants also are featured for the Solemnities and Saints days between March 10 and April 25, making forty-five entries total.Cultivation notes, history and lore, Bible readings, intercessions, and places of spiritual retreat are provided for each entry, and twenty-five line drawings illustrate lesser-known or threatened plants and those for Annunciation and Easter.Thorn, Fire and Lily demonstrates in ways both practical and loving the closeness of God and nature and how love of one brings love of the other within easy grasp.Jane Mossendew is a teacher and lecturer ...